I Want to Respect the Environment, but How Do I Do It?

Summary

– Step 1: Know your energy consumption

– Step 2: Innovative and efficient heating systems

– Step 3: Change your behavior by adopting simple gestures

The preservation of the environment and the fight against energy waste have become a priority for everyone. It is even an obligation in the construction sector, especially with the 2012 thermal regulation, which requires all new buildings to be low-energy consumers. Using energy differently is both eco-responsible and good for your wallet.

1. Know your energy consumption

Air pollution and global warming are partly due to greenhouse gas emissions. These are produced by human activity, particularly in the transportation and housing sectors.

By having an energy performance diagnosis of your home carried out by a professional, you can know both your energy consumption and your greenhouse gas emissions. Better informed, you can then, thanks to the advice of the thermic technician, envisage work to reduce your energy bill and adopt an eco-responsible behavior.

When renovating, be careful when choosing the energies that you will use to optimize your bill and integrate the environmental dimension in your decision. This post will provide you advice on this subject.

2. Innovative and efficient heating systems

Advances in heating technology have made it possible to optimize energy consumption, particularly in terms of heating, with:

– the use of thermostats to regulate the temperature and stop heating when it is no longer necessary;

– the appearance of new, more efficient boilers: condensing, hybrid, cogenerators, etc.

Good to know: Replacing a heating system is worthwhile if your home is adequately insulated.

3. Change your behavior by adopting simple gestures

Replacing a heating system, using renewable energies, and insulating your home are the main ways to consume less energy and help preserve the environment.

You can also control your consumption daily in the following ways:

– By lowering the temperature of your heating by 1°C, you reduce your energy consumption by about 7%.

– Have your heating, ventilation, and hot water production equipment checked regularly. If they are dirty, defective, or badly adjusted, they consume a lot of energy and pollute.

– Choose showers over baths, as they consume less water and less energy.

– Have your hot water temperature set to a maximum of 60°C to prevent the appliance from scaling up too much.

– Wash your clothes at 40°C.

– Defrost your freezer regularly. A 3 cm layer of frost increases your refrigerator’s electricity consumption by 30%.

– And, clean your light bulbs regularly, and buy energy-efficient ones

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You can also read:

Corporate Social Responsibility: 7 Steps of an Environmental Audit

Summary

– Environmental audit: definition

– Characteristics of the environmental audit

– Environmental audit: steps

An environmental audit is an internal or external evaluation of the practices implemented by a company to respect the environment. It is a strategic approach of the company that is conducted in 7 steps.

Environmental audit: definition

An environmental audit, or environmental diagnosis, is an evaluation of the policies put in place in a company to preserve the environment.

Good to know: it is about understanding how companies integrate issues related to sustainable development.

The definition of an environmental audit is “a periodic, systematic, documented and objective evaluation of the organization, management systems and the performance of the equipment put in place to ensure environmental protection.”

It would help if the company carries out an environmental audit with a standard (e.g., ISO standard), a regulation (e.g., EMAS regulation “Eco-Management and Audit Scheme.”

Example: mandatory use of low consumption light bulbs.

It is also a commercial argument that companies can put forward to stand out from the competition.

Characteristics of the environmental audit

Forms

An environmental audit can be internal, i.e., carried out by a company’s department, or external, i.e., carried out by a firm outside the company.

Content

The environmental diagnosis evaluates many aspects of environmental preservation. Some examples are:

– greenhouse gas emissions,

– discharges into the aquatic environment,

– soil contamination,

– the use of energy,

– all kinds of nuisances,

– risks of environmental accidents,

– transport of goods and people, etc.

Example: noise, odors, vibrations, dust, visual nuisances, etc.

Environmental audit: 7 steps

An environmental audit is a precise procedure that is divided into 7 steps:

The opening meeting: this first meeting sets the framework for the intervention of people concerned by the audit, both the audited and the auditors.

2. Technical execution: this is the phase during which the auditors carry out their investigations.

3. The audit team’s meeting: the people in charge of the audit meet to share the results of their different investigations.

4. Meeting with the management of the audited company: the team that conducted the audit transmits its observations and recommendations to the management.

5. Closing meeting: this meeting allows the strengths and weaknesses of the company in terms of environmental protection to be presented.

6. The audit report: all observations, investigations, measures, and recommendations are summarized in an audit report.

7. The follow-up of the audit: the follow-up allows to ensure the implementation of the corrective measures requested.

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